


So Let The Memories Be Good For Those Who Stay

by NyxEtoile, OlivesAwl



Series: A Brush With the Devil Can Clear Your Mind [7]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Accidental trips to space, Adventures at Walmart, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Special, Cooking, House Party, Lake Tahoe, Skiing, Snowed In, Winter Emergency
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:40:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21965092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyxEtoile/pseuds/NyxEtoile, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OlivesAwl/pseuds/OlivesAwl
Summary: "Even your snow chains are over the top," Amanda commented as she walked up to them."Everything I do is," Tony replied. "Is Wanda here yet? They were behind you. I need something inside the engine and dumbass here didn't bring his suit.""Why would I bring my suit?" Scott protested. "We're on vacation."
Relationships: Brunnhilde | Valkyrie/Thor (Marvel), Clint Barton/Laura Barton/Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s), Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Sam Wilson/Original Female Character(s), Sharon Carter/Steve Rogers
Series: A Brush With the Devil Can Clear Your Mind [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1351234
Comments: 71
Kudos: 164





	1. Fall 2018

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas! We decided to write a fluff-filled story about the team taking a trip up into the mountains for the holidays. Originally I had the vague intent to post each chapter on the date it occurred, leading up to Christmas. . . but that didn't happen. But I am at least starting today! The next chapter will post tomorrow since this one is so short.
> 
> Title from the Mumford & Sons song _Winter Winds_.

"I think we should all spend Christmas together."

Pepper was in a pool float, and didn't feel like opening her eyes. It had practically taken a crane to get her into it, and she was not moving, no matter what weird idea Tony was cooking up. "Define all."

"Everybody. Everybody who fought, and their families."

Now she did open her eyes. "There were thousands of people at the battle."

"I mean just the ones that we know and like. The team.”

"It's October. People already have plans. And where would we put them?"

"I don't know. But it's Christmas, it needs snow."

It was 85 degrees outside. "Good luck with that." She really hoped this was one of the many things that popped into his head that he later forgot. The baby was due the end of November. They were not going anywhere for Christmas.

A week later, he bought a lake front compound with multiple cabins and an enormous house, on Lake Tahoe up in the Sierra. Pepper contemplated divorce, murder, and arson in turn, before calling her assistant. Because now there was a thing to plan.

"I hear we're going to Tahoe for Christmas," Amanda mentioned at their next check up. She said it in a tone that indicated she was curious as to how Pepper hadn't killed him already.

She sighed. "I think he's been at loose ends. Maybe he's nervous about the baby. We did make noise all summer about getting everyone together and never got around to it."

"Well, I know he's probably being annoying about it, but for what it's worth I think it's a fun idea. And less stressful than going back east to see my family."

"It will be nice to have a big group, won't it? I'll be able to pass off Morgan and the baby and get some sleep." That sounded pretty nice. 

"There will be plenty of people to take them. Including a few who don't actually need sleep."

"Would you like a room in the big house, or a cabin?"

"I'll talk to James, but I think big house. Less walking in the snow."

"I will give you first choice of the best room. Because the only way I'm comfortable taking a newborn into the mountains is you."

She smiled. "I'm flattered. In the mean time, you and Jr look just fine."

The guest list metastasized, heading north of 30 people. Everyone had a very strong interest in coming, though a few of them had other family members they wanted to bring in order to not disrupt holidays or leave people alone. Pepper ended up not having to manage it, because when she called the Barton farm to invite them, Natasha said she was a little bored and great at planning things, and offered to do it.

Pepper said yes and sent her flowers. 

After that, the only thing she was asked to weigh in on, at all, was the politics of room assignments, something that was done by conference call with a handful of women in her living room the day she brought her son home from the hospital. Her delivery had been smooth and relatively quick, with a very nice epidural. 

"So. . . are we _calling_ him Junior?" was the first thing out of Natasha's mouth when the call came through.

"I still can't believe you agreed to that," Amanda muttered.

"Hey," Pepper said. "I had a unicorn pregnancy. No morning sickness, no blood pressure, no GD, I don't think I even have any new stretch marks and I was in labor for less time than Lord of the Rings. Considering how it was with Morgan, I'm pretty sure that was a stones-related space magic thing from his subconscious. . . so yeah, I agreed. But I am calling him AJ."

"He's much cuter than Tony," Wanda said. "If it helps."

Pepper laughed. Over the speakerphone Nat said, "Okay, I really need help with this. I tried Jess first because she's been really helpful, and she told me she almost lit herself on fire—that's a quote—over seat assignments at your wedding and refuses to ever assign people locations again."

"I really wish I remembered my wedding," Pepper commented.

"Laura said the chairs were really nice," was Nat's comment. Weird little timeline variances continued to pop up—they'd gotten married the summer of 2013, two full years before any of them had known the Bartons existed. And yet they were somehow there. "Anyway. Four bedroom guest house, a dozen bedrooms in the main house, and three one-room cabins. The only ones I have assigned are the Starks in the master and the bedroom next to it for Morgan, and the one bedroom with an accessible shower is for Lani and Sam."

"Vis and I will take a cabin," Wanda said. "I hate sharing walls."

"Carol requested a cabin for her and Maria," Lani piped up. "And logistically, shouldn't you and the Bartons have the guest house?"

"I agree," Nat said. "Both with the guest house and putting the people who could accidentally blow up the building outside."

"That's an excellent metric," Pepper said. "Give Thor and Valkyrie a cabin, too. They set my house on fire once."

"That's less likely now that they're getting along," Lani offered.

"James and I want the bedroom off the great room with the fireplace and access to the hot tub," Amanda said. "Or the closest to it, if that's taken."

"Hey, I promised you the best room," Pepper said. And it amused her Amanda had seen the floorplan.

"Lani's on the far end of that hall, and there's one room between you guys. Anyone we don't like and/or is hard of hearing?"

Pepper snorted with laughter, enough it made AJ squawk in protest, and she rubbed his back. 

"Put Steve and Sharon in there," Amanda said. "We'll have a competition."

The baby didn't settle, so Pepper got up to check and then change his diaper. When she returned they'd assigned one of the hallways as the singles table—Bruce, Rhodey, and Peter's Aunt May—to assure they didn't have to listen to anyone's evening theatrics. There was loft they gave to Peter and MJ, because they were young and the stairs looked narrow. "We'll put Hope and Scott and Cassie in two of the other bedrooms in the master wing," Nat said. "Because, parents."

"That was remarkably painless," Amanda said. "Considering."

"I blame all discussions that go smoother than expected on Lani," Pepper replied.

"You know what, that's fair," Nat agreed.

Lani was grinning. "I think I'm flattered."

AJ was fussing to eat, and Pepper was tired. "Okay, I love you all, but since we're done I'm kicking you out. The little one and I both need naps."

They all started to get up immediately. "Sleep well," Wanda called.

"Call us if you need anything," Amanda added.

"Packing. I am going to need help packing."

"Don't you have robots for that?"


	2. Saturday, December 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"If a pool full of kids is less chaotic then I definitely don't want to go up there right now."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glad everybody is enjoying! I hope to post the next chapter tomorrow or Saturday, we'll see.

"This is the windiest road in the world and I am definitely going to vomit."

James looked over at her in concern. "Should I pull over?"

Amanda rolled her window down for a burst of cold air. It helped more than she'd expected. "No, I'll tell you if I need to. Let's just try to get there."

"I don't understand how you fly around in that suit but can't handle a mountain road."

"There's no sense of movement in the suit. It's like sitting at a computer."

"So we _are_ going to have to pull over," said Steve from the back seat. "Sam just texted me, about a mile up they're requiring snow chains." They were the 4th vehicle in a 6-part caravan containing everyone driving west from the Bay Area.

James made a grumbling noise. "When we left home it was no chains."

"Apparently they've changed their mind," Steve said. He paused, and Amanda could hear the text alerts on his phone. "They're helping people install chains. This is going to end up on the news." Another ping. "Sam is asking for Doc. Tony's doing something with a laser torch."

"FRIDAY put me through to Tony," she said.

It connected in a moment. "Doc, I'm a little-"

"Do not make me kill you before vacation, get back in your car."

"I'm fixing someone's broken chain," he said. "Nobody knows how to weld anymore. You should yell at Parker, he's lifting cars."

"I assure you, once I get there I will distract myself from my nausea by yelling at you all."

"You should probably stay in the car if you feel sick."

James whistled and shook his head.

"Anthony Edward Stark did you just give me medical advice?" Amanda was tempted to pop her suit on and get up there faster.

"I'm going to finish my welding now," he said, and hung up.

"I see them," James said, pointing to a long row of cars pulled off the road behind a light-up sign that said "Chains Required."

He pulled in at the end of the row and all of them climbed out. James and Steve got to work on the chains and Amanda marched up the row to find the rest of them. Three cars up, Peter was holding some person's car a couple inches off the ground so the owner could put his chains on. Lani's van was parked in front of that, chains already on. Scott's Jeep was in front of that, sans chains. When they left the compound, Sam had teased for having put big snow tires on despite the mild forecast. 

In hindsight, he and Hope had grown up in San Francisco and probably knew what they were doing.

The Starks’ SUV was two up from them, with what looked like armor on all four tires. Literally, red and gold like the Iron Man suit. In front of that was a Hyundai Accent that had no business being up in the mountains. Its hood was open, and Tony and Scott were both leaning over the engine.

"Even your snow chains are over the top," Amanda commented as she walked up to them.

"Everything I do is," Tony replied. "Is Wanda here yet? They were behind you. I need something inside the engine and dumbass here didn't bring his suit."

"Why would I bring my suit?" Scott protested. "We're on vacation."

"Tony doesn't actually know what that word means." She leaned over to peer in the engine. "What do you need to reach?"

"I think the alternator belt cracked from the cold but the power steering pulley is in the way."

She blinked, then tapped her bracelet. "FRIDAY, scope." Her nannites morphed into a camera. "Put the feed into Tony's glasses," she ordered, then guided the camera where he pointed.

"Huh," he said after a moment. "Not cracked, just slipped. Think you can nudge it back on, Doc?”

Since her hand was halfway into the engine anyway, it didn't take much to wiggle in the rest of the way and follow his directions to get the belt back where it needed to be. "I feel like the mountain is still going to eat this car," she pointed out.

"This isn't a car. It's a scooter wrapped in tinfoil. Lani's chair has more torque. But they're turning around and going back to Sacramento to get a better rental car."

"Oh good." She retracted her hands and they had the driver start the car.

They all waved as they turned around. "Want to go critique Steve and James's snow chain application?"

"Sure. Pepper's nursing so I'm stuck here for a few." 

Amanda pointed towards her car. "Go on. I'll check on Pepper and be right there."

The easiest thing was to get into the driver's side of their SUV, because she could see Pepper in the passenger seat. She had one of Amanda's blankets draped over her and all you could see were tiny feet in socks. Which looked to also be ones she made.

"I fixed a car," she told Pepper after she climbed in.

"Your skills are limitless." She tipped her head back against the headrest. "Are we there yet?"

"I've been seriously considering flying up in my suit. Before I vomit."

"Can you fly in this kind of snow? It's worse further up."

"We can't be that far away, right? If I don't break the sound barrier I can stay low."

"Given the driving speed, with the chains, Tony thinks another two hours. FRIDAY, how far is the house?"

"Thirty two point six miles. And two hours is probably optimistic, there is an accident up ahead."

Pepper made a pained noise.

"Would swapping cars do anything for you?" Amanda asked.

"Me? No, I need to stay with the kids and the carseats. If it's two hours I'll have to stop again."

"Ah." Breastfeeding infant she could not help with. 

Amanda was about to get out of the SUV and get the men moving again when there was a nearly blinding blast of bright and vaguely colorful light in front of them. It looked like the bifrost, though she'd never been quite this close. Sure enough, the light faded and there was Thor. He came over to the driver's side and tapped on the window.

Amanda rolled it down. "Hello. Please tell me you can do something about the snow."

"I'm told the area needs snow for its water supply. But I have gotten space ships through the bifrost, I think it can handle a couple of cars."

"I love you and I will never mention the roof fire again," Pepper said.

"A fair trade indeed. Doctor, will you help me round up your teammates?"

"Yes." She gave AJ's foot a pat. "See you at the cabin."

Amanda had never been in the bifrost before, and her stomach did _not_ like it, but it was over quickly, and then they were all in the driveway of a sprawling snow-covered house. It looked like a ski resort.

She climbed out of the car and took a few deep breaths to stave off the vomiting. "I live here now," she informed James when he came around to check on her. "I am not going to make it back down the mountain."

"It looks like a nice house," he replied. "I could live here. You'd be bored."

"I'm sure Tony will build me a laboratory."

Echo came bounding over to them, having been let out of the back of Lani's van. "Well, she looks happy."

James crouched down to scritch her. "You're going to try and join a pack of wolves, aren't you?"

Some of the cars went to park in the garage, their occupants going in the house that way, but Amanda and James needed to let their dog run around. 

The guest house above the garage had a deck, and Clint Barton came out onto it, calling down to them, "Hey, you guys finally made it."

"It required an act of god," Amanda called back.

"You can go in if you want," James said. "I'll stay out here and let Echo burn some energy."

She glanced back, bout to ask if he was sure, but he had that look about him that meant he was peopled out. So she just nodded and grabbed her bag to head inside. The main house was downhill from the road, driveway, and garages, but the walkway down was enclosed—perhaps a testament to just how much snow they got up here. And she'd thought upstate New York was bad.

The entrance to the house itself opened into a huge room full of couches and a large attached kitchen. Beyond a wall of glass she could see trees and snow and the almost unrealistically blue lake. Tony had good taste, she'd give him that.

"Amanda!" Natasha called from the kitchen, waving from where she and Valkyrie were at the island, making what looked like an assembly line of coffee. She hadn't seen Nat since the party Tony threw the night he got out of the hospital.

She went to join them. None of them were huggers, so there was just nodding and arm clasping in welcome. "Is there tea?"

"There is," Valkyrie said. "Assuming one of the 32 buttons on the coffee machine over there spits out pain hot water." Amanda could see a very fancy espresso machine behind them. It had a touch screen.

She cracked her knuckles. "I'll convince it to. Save a cup with just sugar for James. He's having a quiet moment outside."

"You guys made really good time," Nat said. "We thought with the snow you'd be another hour or two at least."

"We would have. We ended up stopped on the side of the road helping people put chains on. Then Thor came by and gave us a lift with the bifrost."

Valkyrie turned. "He did _not_." It was rhetorical, because she chuckled. "I can't believe he took the bifrost down the road. You know it doesn't curve all that sharply, right?"

"I'm glad I'm hearing that _after_ I got here safely."

"What does that mean?" Nat asked.

"Going from one place to the other on the same planet requires a very large orbital loop or bouncing off something. Like your moon or one of the planets."

"So the could have ended up in the lake?"

"Really don't need to hear this," Amanda said, poking at the espresso machine.

"No, no, he can aim it pretty precisely. It's just that you've all definitely now been to space, if you hadn't before."

"And it was just as nauseating as I'd always thought it would be." She found the button that provided hot water, and made herself a cup of tea. The others who'd parked in the garages were trailing into the living room dragging suitcases. The Starks' bags were floating, because of course they were.

"Over here," Nat called. "Hot coffee and room assignments."

"Oh, bless you," Sam said, dumping the bags he was carrying to come over and get his cup.

Lani hovered over and gave Nat a hug. "It's good to see you."

"I came for the company, not the snow," Nat said in reply. 

"Where are the rest of your people?" Sam asked. 

"Clint is somewhere enjoying the brief quiet and Laura took the kids down to the pool."

From somewhere behind them, you could hear Morgan say, "I wanna go to the pool!"

Valkyrie held out a hand. "Come on, I'll show you."

*

Valkyrie acquired a second kid—Scott Lang's daughter—on her trip downstairs. She got the girls bathing suits from their mothers and took them to the pool. She wanted to get out of the crowds and turn the sauna that was down there on, anyway.

The downstairs had billiards and other game tables, a movie theatre, plus the pool and sauna. This house had more amenities than the _Statesman_.

Laura Barton was sitting on the edge of the pool, supervising her youngest in some sort of flotation device while the other two swam out in deeper water. Valkyrie sat in the nearest chair as Morgan and Cassie went splashing in. "Everybody is here."

"Oh good," she said. "I'll go up and say hi in a bit. Let them settle in a bit first."

"I came down here to avoid the chaos."

"If a pool full of kids is less chaotic then I definitely don't want to go up there right now."

"Honestly? I help run a small government as my job, I'm not organizing people on my vacation."

Laura laughed. "I think Nat enjoys it. She and Clint both need a project to keep their minds busy. One day I'll wake up and she'll have taken up goat herding or something."

"You know they have goats at the compound in California."

"Oh god, really? I'm totally going to end up with goats."

"Apparently Barnes brought them back from Wakanda. I've actually been thinking about getting some. We have a good herd of sheep, and Thor and I are breeding Asgardian horses. The locals keep suggesting goats."

"We have chickens," Laura said. "And Lila is trying to talk us into a horse. Nat brought a litter of kittens home last month. I should probably give up on trying to control the menagerie."

"I assumed all American farmers had horses." She paused. "Admittedly we get most of our information about human culture from the TV." 

"We mostly use trucks and tractors to get out to the farther parts of the farm. Though Clint would probably ride one if we had it. He hates noise."

"Your vehicles are very loud. That took some getting used to, when all the construction was happening. We stopped for the winter and the quiet is nice."

"I'm sure Tony will get around to flying cars eventually."

"Oh, I almost forgot, I wanted to turn on the sauna," Valkyrie said, standing back up to go do that, keeping one eye on her charges. "We have one in our house back home and I don't know how I lived without it."

"Nat was very excited about it. Must be a cold weather thing."

The glass doors to the pool area slid open, and Peter and MJ came in. "We've been ordered to come downstairs and lifeguard the kids," Peter said. "The adults are having a debate upstairs about dinner." He gestured at the ceiling.

"You two don't get a vote?" Laura asked, though she started to stand, clearly willing to cede kid duty to them.

"We ate," MJ said. "His aunt brought us sandwiches from Queens."

"Well, I will happily go join the debate. Please make sure Nate doesn't wiggle his way out of his floatie."

Valkyrie followed her back upstairs, where the dinner debate turned out to be about the catering service that had been hired to feed during the week them was trapped in snowstorm traffic and would be another hour at least—just to start cooking. They were trying to decide between sending Thor down to get the caterer, sending him down to town to get pizza, or trying to cook food for 30 people from the pre-stocked kitchen.

"I'm just saying," Steve said, "The less random people get a surprise trip to space, the better."

Now Valkyrie was regretting explaining the bifrost.

"I really can cook dinner for everyone," Lani said, with a tone that indicated she'd said at least three or four times previously. "It will not ruin my vacation to do my favorite thing in one of the nicest kitchens I've seen."

"Sounds like we're cooking," Laura said, clapping her hands together, using the voice mothers did when they were making their children do something, hell or high water. Valkyrie would bet real money that voice in particular was why someone had sent Peter and MJ down to chase the kids. "I'm happy to help, let's get started."

"I don't mind going. . ." Thor started.

"You could help them cook," Valkyrie said. He was, actually, pretty good at it. 

"Help would be great," Laura said. "Anybody else like to cook?""I'll help," Nat said. "I'm still learning, but I can chop and dice with the best of them.

"Three sous chefs sounds just perfect," Lani said. "The rest of you go entertain yourselves, I'll tell you when it's ready."

There were some mild rumbles, but they were ignored. "Sorry," she murmured when Thor swung past her on his way to the kitchen and bent to kiss the top of her head. 

"It's fine. This way I can ensure the portions are large enough."

They had dinner on the table in under an hour, sitting at two long tables. Nothing they were served was anything Valkyrie had heard of before, but that was fairly common for any kind of food not from northern Europe. Whatever it was, it was absolutely delicious and she had three plates full. Everybody was there except for Carol Danvers and her family, who were coming in in the morning.

"This reminds me of the big ceremonial banquets we'd have on Asgard," Valkyrie commented.

"Less roast pig," Thor said, to a smattering of laughter.

"I didn't have enough time for a proper luau," Lani said from her end of the table.

"The ground is frozen, too," Sam commented.

"We can have big long tables and roast pig at the wedding," Valkyrie said absently, and there was suddenly silence at the table. 

"You're getting _married_?" Lila Barton asked in the way only a tween girl could.

Valkyrie had stopped with her fork halfway to her mouth, and her eyes slid over towards Thor. "Was it supposed to be a secret?"

"No," he said. "I assumed Lani would tell everyone."

"I'm your therapist," Lani said, sounding amused. "What you tell me is confidential unless you state otherwise."

Further up the table, Wanda leaned forward to see down to them. "Usually I know everybody's big things, but I can't read you guys unless really looking."

"Is there a ring?" That was Lila again. "I don't see one."

The direct attention of 30 interested people was a little much—which felt ridiculous as she'd spoken to and managed far larger groups back in New Asgard, not to mention her previous life. Personal topics were much different than discussing road ploughing. She hoped this wasn't going to be like their first festival, where every single person who noticed her necklace wanted to ask her detailed questions. "It's not a ring," she said. She hooked her thumb to pull her necklace out from under her shirt.

There was a chorus of squeals and coos from the women - or at least the squealing and cooing type of women. 

"Are betrothal necklaces Asgardian tradition?" MJ asked, sounding more like a scholar than a gossipy housewife.

"They are. This is actually pretty small for one. Particularly given. . ." She gestured in Thor's general direction. On Asgard the future Queen would have gotten something elaborate and enormous. She'd seen Thor's mother's and it was practically an armor chest piece. "Not that I wanted one of those."

"They're remarkably hard to find on Midgard," he added, indicating he would absolutely have gotten her one.

"When are you planning the wedding for?" Sharon asked.

"The summer solstice," she replied. "I promise you will all be invited. The ceremony is very involved and the whole thing is very long, but it is surrounded by a very big party."

"We do like a party." That was Stark.

"Bunch of idiots go to a solstice festival in a foreign country, I'm sure I've seen a horror movie like that." And that was Amanda.

"Well, there is that part of the ceremony where we sacrifice a-" Valkyrie broke off, realizing there were kids at the table. Improv wasn't her strong suit. "Nevermind."

"We did let people decapitate ice sculptures at the fall festival," Thor commented. 

"I'm there," Clint said, to chuckles.

"If you drink the Asgardian mead and shoot arrows at statues like at the Starks' wedding I'm not going to be responsible for you," Laura said.

"Well, now I have to, since I don't remember that in the least."

Tony looked at Pepper. "We had a hell of a wedding."

"Wait," Steve said. "Laura, you were _at_ their wedding? Wasn't that before SHIELD fell?"

"Apparently in this timeline Clint 'outed' himself earlier," Nat said, with finger quotes and all.

"When Tony and Pepper announced they were having a baby, Clint thought it would do him good to have a Dad Friend to talk to," Laura explained. "We talked it over and decided we could trust the core team. So he brought you all to the farm one weekend. You called me a lot when you were pregnant with Morgan," she added to Pepper.

"I'm sad I don't remember that," Pepper said.

They all got on talking about the weirdness of timelines and time travel. Rhodey wanted someone to explain how they had managed to change their own past when previously it had been declared impossible. Mostly the stones didn't follow the rules of physics.

Of course, human understanding of the actual rules of physics was full of holes, but that wasn't Valkyrie's wheelhouse. She was just happy they changed the subject.

Later that evening, after some games of chance, desert, and a visit to the sauna, she and Thor hiked back to their cabin just down the hill from the main house. "Why did we get stuck staying where we have to go outside, anyway?"

"I believe there was a rule about anyone who can destroy a house got their own. It's why Carol and her family are in their own as well."

"I suppose we earned that. And we do live in Norway." The cabin was at least cozy, and had a little mudroom for them to take their coats and boots off. "Someone told me a while back that you wanted to wear the glove when doing the reset."

"I asked to do it," he said. "The rest of them wisely stopped me."

"Do you think you would have accidentally wished for a bunch of random collateral things?"

"Possibly. My head was still sort of a mess. And with Natasha's death and seeing my mother I certainly had regrets on the mind."

"Well, I'm happy I don't have a wedding I don't remember."

He smiled and leaned over to kiss her. "I plan to remember every moment."

*

The room MJ and Peter had been assigned was labeled 'loft' on the floorplan. You accessed it via a stairway so steep it was nearly a ladder, from a sitting area in the upstairs hall. They were kind of in the attic, and they'd been assigned it because they were the youngest adults and least likely to be annoyed by the stairs.

It was also clearly for kids, as it was full of bunk beds.

"Think of it as a challenge," she told a disgruntled Peter. "Of our gymnastic skills."

"We can probably push two of them together." The stairs/ladder would be far more annoying if he wasn't strong enough to easily toss their bags up.

"We could push all three together and make a super bed."

He stopped and turned towards her. "I am interested in your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter."

She grinned. "We could also also take all the mattresses off and put them together on the floor to make the ultimate bed."

Peter turned back to the stairs and sighed. "So. I just realized what we _don't_ have."

"Sound proofing?"

"A real door. That sliding thing at the bottom of the stairs doesn't even latch."

"I don't think anyone will walk in on us," she offered, unpacking her toiletries bag. "We're kind of out of the way up here."

"I brought web shooters, I could lash it closed."

Of course he brought his web shooters. "I would not be opposed to another layers of security."

He walked over to her, pulling her into his arms. "And then we'll make a fort out of the bunk beds, with our pile of mattresses in the middle."

Winding her arms around his neck, she let him sway her a little. "Sounds exactly how I want to spend my vacation."

They built arranged the furniture to their liking before going to bed, and made an effort to be as quiet as possible. It was still an improvement over a dorm bed. Afterwards Peter went to get them some drinks, decided to go out the window and down the side of the building so he wouldn't have to unlash the door. 

"Isn't it going to be kind of cold?" she asked.

"Nah, there's a heater in my suit." Which he had apparently brought.

"Did you expect a lot of muggings out here on the mountain?" she asked as he was getting into said suit.

"Not all problems are crimes. Avalanches, blizzards, bears all sorts of things could happen in the mountains. And if they do, I'm going to have to help, suit or no. Might as well have the suit." 

"Fair enough." She stretched out in their nest of blankets. "Hurry back."

He was back twenty minutes later, with a couple of cans of soda and some snacks, and a very odd look on his face.

MJ disentangled herself enough to reach for the soda. "What's wrong?"

"I saw something I don't think I was supposed to see and really wish I didn't see."

"Which team member ass did you see and should I be jealous?"

He flopped down in the blanket pile. "The guest house over the garage has a deck on top with a hot tub. Natasha and Clint were in it together. Like, _together_." He made a vague gesture with his hand.

She felt her eyes widen. "Like. . . sexy together?"

"Yes. I don't. . . like, what the hell? He's married, and his wife is _here_."

Opening her soda, she took a long sip before saying, "That seems like an out of character level of stupid for both of them."

"Maybe they're drunk. I don't know. I feel like I should pretend I didn't see it."

She was pretty sure Peter was utterly incapable of keeping that big of a secret, but his instinct was probably right. "It's really not our business."

"It's not. Of course it's not."

She was quiet a moment, watching him. "You want me to tell Pepper?"

"I don't know? I don't want to stir up shit." He stood up again, because he was still wearing his suit and needed to take it off. "Though maybe passing the burden of knowledge on to someone else is a good idea. Then I can just forget it."

"Pepper's Nat's friend," MJ reasoned. "She's in a better position than us to decide if something needs to be said or not." She watched him undress with unhidden enjoyment. "This feels like something we should let the grown ups handle."

He dropped the suit in the corner and sat down next to her in nothing but boxers. "We'll be grownups someday."

"Maybe then we'll get a room with big kid beds."

He leaned in to kiss her. "Sounds like fun. Let me under the blankets, I'm freezing."

MJ lifted the covers for him. "Come on. I'll warm you up."

*

"Oh, for God's sake."

Nat had felt Clint still and saw him squint before he even spoke, so she turned and looked in the direction of his gaze. There was Spiderman, crawling up the outside wall of the big house.

"Do you think he saw us?" she asked him, tugging her bathing suit top back into place.

"I don't think so, he's busy climbing." He paused. "We should probably go back inside, though."

"Probably." She kissed his cheek. "Laura did say it was a bad idea."

"She did," Clint grumbled. "What is he doing crawling on the side of the building at night, anyway?"

"Spiders gotta spider." She climbed out of the tub, wrapping herself in a towel before the cold could sink into her too badly. Sprinting for the door, she could hear him doing the same.

"I'm going to have to go back out there to turn it off and put the cover on," he said with a sigh.

"If you give me a minute to put on shoes and something lined with fur I'll come help," she offered.

"I got it, just let me go put some clothes on." He kissed her temple. "But thank you."

She watched him saunter off towards the master bedroom before heading to her own. On the way, she spotted Laura reading in the den and detoured. "Hey, we're back inside."

Laura looked up from her book. "That was fast. Not as entertaining as expected?"

"Parker was crawling around outside, for some reason. We might have gotten spotted." She leaned her shoulder on the door jamb. "Bets on which one of us gets approached?"

She tipped her head back. "Oh, there are lots of options. Depends who he talks to. One of the men having angry conversation with Clint? One of the women sitting me down with a box of tissues? Maybe Steve will come solemnly tell you he's disappointed in you." 

"Ooo, that last one might be worth it for the opportunity to explain polyamory to Captain America."

Behind her she heard the sliding door open and close, presumably Clint going to close the hot tub. Laura reached over and held up the other end of the blanket over her legs. "Come sit, I'm cold just looking at you."

Nat hung the towel over the back of a chair before cuddling onto the couch with Laura. "Good book?"

"The plot is good. The author is under the impression women think about their own breasts all the time. And not in the 'crap is my milk leaking' sort of way."

She chuckled, unable to count how many books like that she had read. "Is the heroine also unaware of how beautiful she is?"

"Of course. She's not conventionally pretty, you know."

Nat heard the sliding door again, and then Clint appeared in the doorway of the den. "Has the 'I told you so' been uttered?"

"No, I held that in," Laura said cheerfully. "Admittedly my warning was more about cold than the pitfalls of exhibitionism." 

"We're laying bets on which of us is going to be approached if Parker saw us."

"We should have just told them when they all came to the farm after Tony made that crazy robot when I was pregnant with Nate."

Nat rested her head on Laura's shoulder. "Yeah, but we'd still have to tell half of them again." It was very weird, knowing Laura had lived a very different life than they had. She'd filled them in on most of it, but they still ran into things. And the rest of them were just utterly baffled. 

"You've apparently dropped bigger surprises on them at worse times," Laura said. For her side, she could not believe her and the kids had stayed hidden all those years while Clint was an Avenger, in the timeline Nat and Clint remembered. "I'm still sorry I missed that."

"I genuinely wish I'd gotten a picture of Steve's face," Clint said.

Nat chuckled. "Tony thought the kids were little SHEILD agents."

"I suppose tomorrow will be interesting," Laura said. "But for now I'm going to bed." She tossed her book on the coffee table and folded the blanket off her lap.

"Goodnight," Nat said, tilting a cheek up for a kiss. "Sleep well."

"I intend to sprawl in the middle of the bed, so you're stuck with him. Enjoy your sex."

"Thanks!" she called after her. She looked over at Clint and held out a hand for him to help her up. "Shall we?"

He pulled her up. "And hey, less chance of frostbite."

"I find that a huge plus," she admitted, winding her arms around his neck to kiss him.


	3. Sunday, December 23

Sharon woke up to bright sunlight filling the room and the distant sounds of the rest of the house waking up.

Rolling over, she was pleased to find Steve was still in bed and available for snuggling up to. 

"Mmm. Good morning," he said, sleep still in his voice.

"Sleep good?" she asked, nuzzling his shoulder.

He sighed a little, and sounded almost reluctant to say it. "Not really."

She lifted her head to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"This kind of weather gives me bad dreams."

"I'm sorry." She rubbed his arm. "Do you want to go home?"

"No, no." Steve shook his head, and then he sat up to swing his legs out of the bed. "Besides, it stopped snowing, the wind died down and it's sunny outside." He waved a hand at the window and the glistening white beyond.

"Would some extra blankets tonight help?" Sharon asked, going up on her knees to wrap her arms around him from behind.

He rubbed his hand along her forearm. "I'm okay," he said. "Really. Not going somewhere dark, I promise."

"Okay." She kissed his shoulder. "I'm not stressing, just wanted to check in."

"Tonight maybe we'll put that fireplace on. Even if it is fake." The fireplaces in the bedrooms were gas. Steve and Bucky had had a loud Old Man Grumping session about how real fireplaces had wood, which then devolved into an argument about whether the fireplace that had been converted to burn coal in someplace they'd lived in 1939 counted as 'real'.

"I'm all for that," she said. "I've never had sex in front of a fire."

He turned a little and grinned. "Well, that's a tragedy." He paused and cleared his throat. "Neither have I."

"Ooo, I love when we can explore new things together." She kissed him tenderly and he tugged her around to sit him his lap. "I'm glad we came up here," she offered. "It's nice to hang out with everyone."

"It is. It's good to see everyone. It's been kind of a year."

"Yeah. I think just about everyone needed a vacation."

"We should go see about breakfast soon." He kissed her. "Interested in sharing a shower first?"

"Twist my arm."

The breakfast buffet was pretty picked over by the time they finally got out there, but the kitchen staff had made it and were happy to whip up some omelettes. The last of their guests had arrived, too. Steve was very happy to see Carol Danvers, and pulled Sharon over to meet her. 

They'd crossed paths with each other in the hospital after the battle, but had never actually spoken.

"Steve Rogers got himself a life. Never thought I'd see the day." Carol had a biracial baby propped on her hip, who had a fistful of her hair and was was merrily yanking on it. "I miss the short hair," she added.

Steve laughed. "Carol Danvers, Sharon Carter. You'll get along."

"I get along with everyone," Sharon informed him, grinning at the baby. "Who's this?"

"This is my granddaughter, Zari." Sharon's surprise must have shown on her face, because Carol added, "I know I look your age, but I'm 54."

Sharon's brows went up. "That sounds like a hell of a story."

"Oh, you have no idea," she replied with a laugh.

After breakfast people scattered to various entertainments. Sharon found herself down in the sauna with some of the other women, lounging and chatting. 

"We have one of these at home," Valkyrie said. "It is my favorite thing.

"My gym has one," Sharon said, sipping the lemon water she'd brought in. "It's amazing after a work out."

The sauna door opened and Pepper came in. "Oh this is nice." She sat on one of the wood benches. "I had to feed the baby."

"How is the little guy?" Amanda asked. "Handling the altitude all right?"

"So far. He slept good last night. Though the lack of FRIDAY in this house is making me nervous. I'm used to knowing he's always monitored."

"FRIDAY does tend to spoil you for analog houses. James is nervous he can't fiddle with his arm a much as normal."

"FRIDAY is loaded into Tony's arm, but that's localized." She chuckled and shook her head. "This is normal now. How is your partner's fake arm doing today." 

"Well," Amanda said slowly. "Could be I'll be asking you different questions soon."

Pepper turned her head and both eyebrows went up.

After clearing her throat a few times, she said, "James and I are discussing starting a family."

"Hey, congratulations!"

"I still can't believe you people just. . . decide," Valkyrie said. "'Hey, I'll have a baby,' and then you do."

"Well, I'm old enough it's likely to require some sort of shot in my ass." 

Pepper reached over and patted her shoulder. "Stomach, too."

Sharon looked over at Valkyrie. "What do your people do?"

"Happens when it happens. It's pretty obvious when the window is open, but it's so rare you can't control the timing. If you want children, you take them when they come." 

"That sounds stressful in a totally different way from ours."

"It can be. I can only imagine that if we were still on Asgard the scrutiny I'd be under. And I know now Thor worries about New Asgard's population math."

"Repopulating a country is tricky," Amanda said. "I assume you can't interbreed with humans?"

She shook her head. "Not in a survivable fashion. We can with some of the other races, though. We are very long lived, so we have time."

"I wish you the best of luck," she said sincerely.

"Can I ask you guys a hypothetical personal question?" Pepper asked.

"Go for it," Sharon said.

"Would there be any plausible or forgivable reasons for your partner to have an affair?"

Everyone seemed to consider this for a few moments. Sharon decided to break the silence first. "I think there are circumstances that I would consider it. After a lot of talking and therapy. But very few."

"It's hard for me to trust people," Amanda said. "Once you break it, I don't think you can get it back."

"I did it during the five years that were erased," Valkyrie said. "It was at the very, very end of our relationship—if one is being generous you could say it was unclear as to whether we'd already broken up or not. He'd been unbearable to live with for months, I was under a huge amount of stress in a large part his fault. . . it was about as close to forgivable as it gets. He was still so upset he blew up the house with the lightning." 

"Can I ask why you're asking?" Amanda said carefully.

"My wife was busy having a baby is not an excuse under any situation, and I will go borrow Stormbreaker," Valkyrie said.

Pepper laughed. "Oh, _God_ no. This is not about me. Just somebody brought a situation to my attention and I'm not sure what to do about it." She paused. "Though I was absolutely prepared to forgive him a certain amount of poor impulse control in the early years of our relationship."

"I feel like there was a period of time Tony could have legitimately forgot he was in a monogamous relationship."

"That was my theory. Turns out that while he's still a flirt, he knows where the line is."

"We're all talking about impulse failures and drunk mistakes," Valkyrie said. "One time lapses. You asked about an affair. I feel like that's something different."

Pepper hesitated another moment and Sharon said, "We promise it doesn't leave this room."

"You won't be able to un-know it once I tell you."

"Okay," Amanda said. "Now I'm super curious."

Pepper pointed at Sharon. "Do not tell Steve."

She blinked but crossed her heart with a finger. "Scouts honor."

"Natasha and Clint seem to be doing. . .something."

Everyone stared at her. "Wh- seriously?" Amanda said.

"Here? With Laura and the kids around?"

Pepper held her hands up. "Apparently. Peter saw them. He was on the roof for some reason or other that I'm sure made sense to him."

Amanda shook her head. "Wow."

"Have you talked to her?" Sharon asked.

"No," Pepper replied. "I honestly don't know what to say. Or if I should say anything." 

"You should ask Lani," Valkyrie said. "Thor told me once she was the only person who ever talked to him about his drinking in a non-judgmental fashion. She gives very good advice about fucked up relationships. I should know." She paused. "And so should you."

"That is a good idea," Pepper said.

"It is sort of her job."

"In the meantime, not a word."

"We promise," Sharon said, and the rest nodded.

*

Typically, Lani's favorite thing to do on vacation was sit somewhere pretty and read. Of course, she usually vacationed somewhere warm, but she was nothing if not adaptable. Which is how she ended up on the deck, bundled in blankets, with a book about forensic botany and a steaming cup of jasmine tea.

Sam came out onto the deck. “You don’t want to go skiing, do you?”

She tipped her head back to look at him. "You're joking, right?”

“Tony informed me that your chair could attach to—or possible sprout, it wasn’t clear—a pair of skis, and he insisted I ask you.”

"I think I'll skip hurtling down a mountain, but thank him for the inclusivity.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” He came far enough out to kiss the top of her head, and went back inside.

The house was so close to the slopes that you could ski out from the house, and Lani watched the large group of them go. Carol flew those going higher up to the top of the slope so they didn’t need to use the lifts.

Eventually Pepper came out onto the area of deck where Lani was, all bundled up herself. “Hey.”

"Hi. Not up for physical activity?”

“I am still bleeding and AJ eats every 90 minutes, so no.” She paused and then said, “The blanket’s not covering your left foot all the way,” before reaching over to move it so it did. Pepper clearly remembered from living in New York easy it was for her to accidentally get frostbite.

"Thank you," Lani said. "I don't think it's cold enough to worry about, but I appreciate it." She studied her. "Is everything all right? You look a bit distracted.”

“It’s the sleep deprivation,” Pepper said, leaning back against her chair. “Apparently Morgan knows how to ski, which is news to me.”

"You two took her skiing in New Hampshire last year.”

Pepper chuckled and shook her head. “In my memory, she spent her entire life in California. We never got around to coming up here.”

"It must be very destabilizing when you find out she has experiences you missed out on.”

“It still surprises me how much her being born earlier changed, just. . . all manner of things.”

"They say a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a hurricane.”

“That strikes me as one of those things people just say.”

"I'm sure there's people here who could confirm or disprove it. But it is true that tiny changes can have big impacts." She gestured to her legs. "Two minutes faster or slower and I'd have a completely different life.”

“Or none at all.”

"Also that." She sipped her tea, which was starting to cool. "Maybe Tony really wanted a kid who could ski.”

“He was adorably excited about taking her.”

"He seems to be enjoying his retirement. More than I expected.”

“Me too.” Pepper shook her head. “At least, I was the first time, during the five years we’re living over again. So were you at the time.” After a pause, she asked, “Has he told you much about the original timeline?” 

"Quite a lot, actually. I'm told I was extremely helpful and very busy.”

“Did he tell you about his time stranded in space?”

"Not in detail." There were still a few painful memories that they were dancing on the edges of. In general, he was doing well, so Lani had decided not to push.

“They were out there for three weeks, most of it drifting. They’d been four days without food and water and only had a few hours of oxygen left when Carol found them. Waiting to die for that long, that slowly, with no distraction. . . When he came back I think he was as changed as he was after Afghanistan. I told him I was pregnant and he latched on to fatherhood like the Iron Man armor.” 

"A slightly more healthy obsession," Lani said. "And less self destructive.”

“He hassled you about work-life balance, I kid you not.”

She laughed out loud. "Oh my god. I was busy.”

“You seem much happier now,” Pepper commented. “Than you were back then.”

"Obviously I can't compare. But I am very happy.”

“I think you carried a lot. Maybe too much. Which is why you decided to, well, reset yourself. You didn’t think you could do your job with the weight.”

"It makes sense," Lani admitted, looking out at the blue of the lake. "I understand her reasoning. Though I'd love to have a conversation with her. About all of it.”

“You think of her as a different person?”

"Of course. She had a completely different experience. A traumatic one, that would make her a very different person than I am.”

“We are all very different, those of us who lived through it. I wonder how where one half of the couple did and the other didn’t manage. Amanda and Bucky seem all right, but he’s got enough trauma and, well, time distortions for ten people.” She paused. “Steve and Sharon are split like that.”

Lani knew for a fact that that was the least of Steve and Sharon's problems. But, of course, that wasn't something she could share with Pepper. "I think they're doing all right.”

“I can’t imagine having a relationship with a five year gap in it. For only one person. Especially. . .” She trailed off and frowned. “Hm.”

Lani tilted her head at her. "Something occur to you?”

“Understanding how something might have happened, is all.” Pepper looked at her. “How well do you know the Bartons.?”

"Rather well, I think. Clint and Laura are another couple that were separated during the Decimation. And he, especially has some things to work through. Though I have to give Natasha credit for getting him talk to me at all.”

“They’ve been close a long time.” Pepper sighed, and clearly chose her words carefully. “If I were to tell you someone saw them sharing a hot tub in a non-platonic fashion, would you be surprised?”

Years of training kept Lani's face very neutral. "I would not be surprised, no.”

Pepper nodded, then asked, “Would Laura?”

She paused a moment, trying to decide if this fell under confidentiality rules. Finally, she sighed. "I think that's a question you should ask Nat. But no, Laura would not be at all surprised.”

“Then I don’t need to ask anyone anything. I don’t want broken hearts and drama under the Christmas tree. Otherwise, it’s none of my business how people conduct their relationships. Safe, sane, and consensual and all.”

"I find that's the best way to approach other people's relationships.”

“God knows Tony and I aren’t normal.”

"Normal is a setting on a dishwasher.”

Pepper laughed out loud. “This. This is why we hired you.”

*

Eventually, Pepper had to go inside and feed the baby. There were only a handful who hadn’t gone skiing, and it was so quiet she decided to take a nice long nap. She was on maternity leave, and it was Sunday, and Stark Industries was having its annual winter shutdown. It was the most On Vacation Pepper had been since the other timeline.

Most of them were back in the afternoon, and Tony and Steve marshaled a group of men—plus Carol—to go get a Christmas tree. They were going to go out in the woods and cut it down in a manly fashion. Thor brought Stormbreaker.

“I really hope they stay on our land and don’t chop down a tree in the national forrest,” Pepper said once they’d gone. A group of the cooking-oriented women were making cookies for the kid the cut shapes in with cutters and decorate.

"They're going to end up on the news and you know it," Amanda said, munching on the bowl of M&Ms the were supposed to be saving for the decorations.

Hope shook her head. “Even if the news was summoned, they wouldn’t bring the choppers up this high. Storm is coming in tonight.”

“I thought that was tomorrow,” Sharon said. “Or Tuesday.”

“Welcome to California,” Hope replied.

"We gonna get snowed in?" Lani asked, weighing flour. Pepper had no idea that you had to weigh flour, but Lani made the best cookies she'd ever eaten, so she didn't comment.

“Maybe? I think the pantry is stocked through Christmas dinner,” Hope said. “So we won’t need groceries.”

“It is,” Pepper said. “I’m thinking of paying the caterers and sending them home, I don’t want them to get stuck up here over the holiday. We can cook.” She paused, watching Lani. “Some of us can even cook well.”

"I'm happy to take over the cooking duties so the caterers can go home," she said serenely, handing the flour to Laura to add to the dough.

“There better not be any Turduken in that freezer,” Amanda said. “We are _not_ repeating that part of the first 2018.”

Pepper laughed. “Jesus, I forgot about that.” AJ was tucked against her in a sling, and she stood up to bounce him when he fussed. “With the people that were squatting next door and they brought all those turnips.”

“What the hell is Turduken?” Valkyrie called. She was on one of the living room couches reading a book, but could clearly hear them.

"A chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey," Lani told her. "Because humanity is doomed.”

Valkyrie sat up. “That is the most Asgardian food I have ever seen you people make. Where do I get one?”

"It's less buying it whole and more. . . assembling it. But if you want to go to the butcher and try to get some birds we could. . .”

“No,” Amanda said. “No turducken.”

“And no turnips,” Pepper added. “They are not an acceptable substitute for potatoes.”

Lani looked over at Val. "We clearly missed something and maybe it's for the better.”

She lifted a shoulder. “Hey, I wouldn’t live that winter over again with a sword to my throat.”

Pepper nodded. “I am very grateful to be here.”  
"This is a much better Christmas," Nat agreed. She was sitting on one end of the counter, watching the cookie making with interest.

“I was terrified of the roll back,” Pepper said. “I mean. . . I have literally never been so afraid of something in my life. More than waiting for Tony—or his body—to come back from space, more than when Killian had me or the Mandarin blew up our house or any of the many other dangerous situations that man has put me in. But now I’m so grateful we did it.” 

"It could have gone very, very wrong," Amanda agreed. "But it really does seemed to have worked out for the best for just about everyone."

Nat reached over to snag a couple M&Ms. "I think we might have Tony and his subconscious to thank for that.”

“I really do wonder,” Pepper said. “Did he concoct an entire alternate world, unconsciously, and the stones gave it to him? I totally believe his brain could work that fast. But he swears he was in so much pain all he could do was toss out general vague thoughts. Beat Thanos, no casualties, keep Morgan. The rest was how the chaos of the universe unfolded from integrating those.”

Nat cleared her throat. “There are certainly things I don’t believe it would have occurred to him to cook up.”

“There are things I’m pretty sure he would have actively _not_ wanted,” Valkyrie said, finally getting up and coming over get some M&Ms herself. Lani made a face and moved the bowl. “Such as Thor’s brother being alive. That had to be an accident of fate.”

"Admittedly, I'm not a theoretical physicist of any sort," Lani said, stashing the M&Ms somewhere under the counter. "But as I was telling Pepper earlier, my whole life is an example of how one seemingly small thing can change the course of your life."

"I think most of the major changes come down to him wanting Morgan alive," Amanda said. "He and I tried to sit down and track them and most of them came to that. So it really could be that his random collection of thoughts made the stones throw up their hands and rearrange whatever they needed to to make it work.”

“I suppose I appreciate her being woven into the timeline and I didn’t just have a random magical five year old to explain to the world,” Pepper said.

"That would have been decidedly awkward," Amanda agreed.

The dough was made and put into the refrigerator, and someone pulled out the box of cookies cutters Laura had brought to sort through. She had them for every holiday and occasion known to man. 

Off the deck out front, something caught Pepper’s eye and she turned. Through the glass doors she could see a very large fir tree, floating in the air on some shimmering gold light. “I think they’re back.”

There were feet on the stairs, and then Steve, Bucky, and Thor strode through the living room. “Couldn’t get it through the front door,” Steve called.

"We should have sent a voice of reason," Laura said, coming up from the pool. "This happens every time.”

“Some of those men are perfectly reasonable,” Pepper commented. They’d opened both sliding doors, letting in a blast of cold air, to guide the tree in. “I hope it fits.”

"Stark claimed to have perfect spatial intelligence," Carol said, easing the tree slowly through the doors.

Pepper made a noise conceding the point. That was generally true. And when the tree was stood up in the center of the 20-foot cathedral ceiling, it was just the right height, with space for a star.

“See? Perfect.” Tony came and put an arm around her waist, reaching with the other to pat the baby’s back. Said arm was red and white striped like a candy cane, something that was almost assuredly Morgan’s doing.

“Don’t be smug,” Pepper said as she put her head on his shoulder.

"You love it when I'm smug.”

She chuckled. “Only in certain circumstances.”

He kissed her cheek. "Merry Christmas, Potts.”

“I hope we brought enough ornaments.”


	4. Monday, December 24

They did not, in fact, have enough ornaments.

Once the tree was set up, the decision had been made to make the cookies and then eat dinner before decorating. By the time that was done, the younger children needed to go to bed, so everyone decided tree decorating would wait until morning.

By the time they realized they didn’t even really have enough lights, it had been snowing for hours, and the road down the mountain was closed. Which was very unfortunate as Amanda really needed to go get something from the drug store.

“How about we load up a car,” Carol said, as they were discussing the ornaments. “And I’ll carry it down. We’ll get whatever Christmas decorations we need, and fill out the pantry.”

"I feel like we're abusing your powers," Tony said. "But I concede I don't have a better idea."

"How smooth a ride do you give?" Amanda asked in private while the others went to make a list.

Carol tilted her head. “Mmm. Helicopter? Ish.”

Not ideal, but manageable. "I think I'll tag along. I have some things to get.”

Steve and Sharon and Nat came along, because they cared about Christmas decorations. Lani came because she was officially in charge of the food now. In the interest of only making one trip, Carol flew the SUV to the nearest Walmart, which was in Carson City, NV.

Now all Amanda had to do was buy something and pay for it without anyone seeing her. It wasn't like she was shopping with two spies and a psychologist.

Steve Rogers probably wouldn't notice if she was buying a pregnancy test but he would definitely _care_.

In the coming year, Amanda would turn 40. She had stopped taking birth control so her system could adjust so she could start the testing that would preclude the fertility treatment she was absolutely certain she’d need. They planned to start in the new year, and otherwise she put it out of her mind. The conversation in the sauna yesterday had made her sit down and figure out how long it had been since she’d had a period. . . which was a while.

It was entirely possible her reproductive system was still adjusting, of course. But it behooved her to check before she got in that sauna again. Pepper had turned it down in deference to her postpartum hormones, but some of the others really liked to crank the temp up.

She hadn't been to a Walmart in years, and ended up having to wander a bit before finding the family planning section. Which was, fortunately, pretty far from the Christmas section. She grabbed two boxes that she recognized the brand names of, and tucked them under her arm to head for the checkout.

The self checkouts were all closed, requiring her to use an actual line. And apparently Walmart was one of those stores that when you swiped a credit card, it displayed your name for the cashier. “You’re Amanda Newbury,” the young man said, freezing still.

She had no idea why her name caused that sort of reaction, but she said carefully, “Yes?"

He swung around to look at the other cashiers. “Hey, Mike! That _was_ Captain America!” He pointed at Amanda. “I have Doc in my line!” 

Oh God in Heaven. "Yep. Even superheroes shop.”

Mike abandoned his line and came over to stare. Her cashier, whose name tag said Justin, was staring now at what she had purchased. Since she’d paid, she reached for the boxes to shove them in her purse.

“Thank you for saving the world, ma’am,” Mike finally managed.

Over the store PA, she heard, “Assistance needed in the Holiday Section.” Pause. “Trust me, you don’t want to miss this.”

“Good luck with your baby,” Justin said.

"Thanks," she muttered. "I better not see headlines about it in the tabloids next week.”

“I don’t know anyone at the tabloids,” Justin replied.

“Can I take a selfie with you?” Mike asked. “Nobody on twitter is going to believe me without pics.”

“If she doesn’t want it in the tabloids, she doesn’t want it on twitter, you asshole,” Justin said, elbowing Mike.

“I only have 7 followers.”

Tony was going to rupture something laughing when he heard about this. "One selfie. I'll even smile.”

As she was taking the selfie, the PA came on again. “Attention Walmart Shoppers. Yes, the Avengers are in our store, and we’d like to welcome them and thank them for saving the world.” 

She supposed there was something to be said for traveling with people even more famous than her. She was sort of tempted to just fucking walk back to the cabin at this point.

The others were probably going to be a while, so she went to get a cup of tea and text James about her misery.

The PA came on again. “Attention Walmart Shoppers. No, Spiderman is not here. Neither is Iron Man. Please stop asking. Thank you.”

 _I'm in hell,_ she texted James. _The shoppers have noticed Steve and announcements are being made on the PA. I was asked for a selfie._

_Did you take it?_

“Attention Walmart Shoppers. The original Captain America is here, not the current one. Sorry for any inconvenience.”

_Yes, and I even smiled. So far people are disappointed Tony, Sam, and Peter aren't here._

_I’m going to tell Sam that._

Sam probably would be flattered. _Not sure how Steve feels about being "original Captain America.”_

_That is factually true. You guys need a rescue? I can call with a fake emergency._

_They have a cup of tea to wrap it up themselves and then I'm going to go glare._ James had lived with her long enough to adjust to her measuring time in cups of tea, but he still found it hilarious.

Lani came over to the cafe, bags hanging off the back of her hoverchair. “Hey, there you are. Sharon organized the selfie line into one big picture and took down and email list. We’ll be able to go soon. Carol is almost through the herd of little girls.”

"James offered to call in with a fake emergency, but I told him I wanted to give them a chance to do their thing.”

“It’s good PR, and it’s Christmas. Sharon has it under control.”

"I trust Sharon. It's just not my thing. I'm enjoying my tea.”

“Did you get what you needed?” Lani asked.

"I did, yes. Though I was stopped for a selfie at the checkout.”

“It happens to Sam all the time.”

"It's a first for me. I do not have a famous face. Apparently people know my name, though.”

“There are worse ways to be known.” She inclined her head. “I’m going to get a snack.”

Right about the time Amanda finished her tea, Carol came to find them to tell them everyone was heading out. The snow had really picked up outside, and she was glad they weren’t actually driving.

It still wasn't the smoothest ride in the world and she took a minute to breathe on the porch before heading inside.

James came out to check on her. “You okay?”

"Yeah." She tucked into his arms. "The wind was picking up. She did her best but it was rough at the end.”

He tugged her inside. They were all in the great room, decorating the tree. Somebody had put on Christmas music. It was. . . kind of nice. “You want me to make you some tea?” James asked.

"Yes, please. Maybe mint or ginger, for my stomach.”

He kissed her temple and went off.

She took a seat on the couch to watch the decorating and give hilarious color commentary. Echo hopped up with her stretching out and resting her head on Amanda's lap. She was willing to upgrade this to really nice.

She’d take her test tomorrow. It was better in the morning, anyway.

*

Valkyrie had never seen a Christmas movie before, and was finding them to be pretty strange. At least, the one they’d watched was strange. Movies were playing in the background while they finished decorating the tree.

“Their current gods don’t make any sense. If you had the power to put someone in an alternate universe, or shape the universe around them. . . why not just tell that guy who has his $8,000? Problem solved.”

Thor chuckled. He was sitting on the floor behind her, trying to find the broken lightbulb in a strand. “Sounds like something my father would do. Why explain when you opaquely demand people guess? The gods haven’t changed as much as you think.”

“You know,” MJ said, “If the cops think you embezzled money, they don’t let you off the hook because your friends took up a collection to replace it.”

“Maybe they do for white people,” Sam replied.

From the couch where Pepper was feeding the baby, she said, “Tony and I have a theory the whole ending is a hallucination brought on by hypothermia and hypoxia while Jimmy Stewart dies in the river.” 

Scott leaned around the tree to look at them. “None of you have any Christmas spirit.”

Hope’s voice came from somewhere inside the tree branches. “Honey, nobody has any Christmas spirit.” Scott hadn’t brought his suit, but she’d brought hers and it proved very helpful in stringing the lights.

“You know it’s only a Christmas movie because it accidentally fell into the public domain and was free for TV stations to just play over and over and over during December when they didn’t have enough programming.” That was MJ again. Valkyrie liked her.

“All right, all right,” Stark said. He was controlling the TV from a panel built into his arm, because why not? “What’s next?”

“Christmas Carol?” Steve suggested.

“Nope, gives me weird dreams. Any others?”

“Die Hard,” Peter offered. Stark pointed up at him in approval. Because he was currently hanging off the ceiling.

“That is not a Christmas movie,” Steve protested.

“Yes it is,” came back a chorus from the room.

“In fact it’s not really Christmas until Hans Gruber falls off the Nakatomi Tower,” Sharon added, hanging another ornament. Steve gave her a wounded look and she shrugged.

“Be that as it may,” Laura said, in full Mom Voice. “There are too many kids here for Die Hard.” She paused. “But it is a Christmas movie.”

"What about A Christmas Story?" Amanda asked. Valkyrie had thought she was asleep, slumped against her man's shoulder as she was. "It's also not really Christmas until Ralphie shoots his eye out."

There was a general agreement with that. The movie popped up a moment. And then there was the strangest sensation. It was subtle, but suddenly it felt like the building was moving, as if she were on the deck of a ship in flight. It was. . . disconcerting.

“Was that—?” Nat started.

“Oh, here we go,” Stark said, not sounding very concerned. 

Amanda’s dog was barking and the chandelier above them swung. Scott hung another ornament on the tree like nothing was happening, and from her position on the couch, Cassie Lang called out an excited, “Earthquaaaaake.”

“Should we go stand in a doorway?” Peter said from the ceiling, sounding alarmed—though the shaking, such that it was, had already stopped.

"Kind of a moot point now, kid," Scott said from his position behind the tree.

"What do you think?" Amanda said, eyes still closed. “Five pointer?"

“Not even.”

“Unless that was the far edges of the Big One hitting San Francisco,” Stark said. “And we’re going to have a Christmas even more fun than the original 2018.”

“Rolling back time doesn’t change geology,” Bruce commented. “There wasn’t one the first time, there won’t be one now.”

"It was probably bigger somewhere, though," MJ said. "To be felt here in the mountains. We're on bedrock, that's hard to shake."

“There is a fault line running along the north shore of Lake Tahoe,” Vision said, tilting his head like he did when he was listening to the internet. “It hasn’t had a major quake in millennia, but as small ones every few decades. USGS estimating 4.4 magnitude, but we’re nearly on top of the epicenter.”

“Well, there we go,” Scott said. “Welcome to California.”

“I remember this now,” Pepper said. “I recall being up in the middle of the night with Morgan watching a YouTube video how a big enough quake would cause the water to slosh around in the lake like reverberating tsunamis.” She tipped her head back. “It kicked off some avalanche on the Nevada side—nobody got hurt but there were a lot of pictures.”

Amanda straightened suddenly and turned around. “Because all the ski slopes were closed.”

There was a moment of silence, then Steve asked, “Okay, who brought their suits?"

Several people raised their hands, then started to get up - or in Peter's case, down - presumably to go put them on. Valkyrie didn’t have her armor, but she supposed it wasn’t particularly needed for this sort of situation. 

Carol came up from the lower level where she’d been in the pool. “I’m going to go up and see if I can see it—and possibly slow it down if I can. I’ll take Hope and Sam with me. Everybody else get geared up and ready to go when we have coordinates.”

“I think I can help with the blockade,” Wanda said. “Vision can carry me.”

“I have four bots and Doc’s hospital suit flying up from HQ,” Stark said. “Half an hour or so.”

She gave a brusque nod. "Should be right on time."

"I have my bracelet suit," Amanda offered. "So I can start triage.”

“Can I be of use?” Steve asked her.

She hesitated, then Tony popped up. "You can control the drone bots remote. They do better with a set of eyes and a human brain directing.”

Steve chuckled a little. “Sounds like fun.”

A couple of the others who hadn’t brought gear were similarly recruited, and they’d found the avalanche by the time the robots arrived. There had been a break in the snow an hour or two ago, long enough to flood the relevant mountain’s slopes with tourists just in time for the earthquake to send a wall of snow down to overwhelm them. Local search and rescue was very glad to see them. It had taken down one of the lifts, causing serious injuries, and there were currently 22 skiers missing.

“FRIDAY has a map of all the heat signatures she can find under the snow,” Stark said over the comms. “Everyone with a HUD should be seeing the map now.” He was supposed to be retired due to his injuries in the big battle, but had found a way to continue to fly Iron Man suits—just from a chair in the building Amanda was using as a triage space. That man was the king of loopholes.

“Some of us don’t have HUDs,” Valkyrie commented.

"I guess I can give you verbal directions like some sort of medieval peasant.”

“Don’t make me zap you with lighting,” Thor said, and she laughed.

"Please don't electrocute him until I'm done here," Amanda said, sounding tired.

“I’m going to get everyone glasses with HUDs,” Stark muttered. “In the meantime the bots have fire suppressant that comes out green, Rogers and I will mark the snow with it.” 

“I don’t want to call the lightning to fly until I have a landing spot,” Thor said. “For obvious reasons.”

“We’re working on it.”

“I’m going to hitch a ride with one of the drones,” Valkyrie said. “Somebody drop me on one of the spots."

Some of the fliers who could see the maps had gotten to work. “Hey, Doc,” Sam said from somewhere up the mountain. “What’s our backboard situation?”

"My suit has three. We sent a drone bot to the ranger station for theirs, it should be here in ten.”

“Yeah, I need you to come up here.”

Val heard her sigh. "That sounds bad.”

Search and rescue was a tough job. It was nice not to be fighting, but fighting was probably psychologically easier. You fought as hard as you could, and you lived or didn’t. This felt more like being stuck cleaning up after fate’s mercurial moods.

They found people miraculously fine in air pockets. They found people seriously injured. They found two dead bodies. Helicopters came and helped, until the storm rolled back in and made it difficult for them to fly. Thor went back down the mountain to discuss the logistics of moving the storm. He tried not to interfere with natural weather patterns, particularly this kind of large and completely normal storm. If he pushed it to the wrong place, consequences elsewhere could be severe. But the storm cost them their satellite links, and that made everything harder.

It was a very, very long day.

It was getting dark and cold by the time they all collected at Amanda's triage for some hot drinks and a regroup.

"We're not seeing any heat signatures any more," Stark said. "And we're being strongly encouraged to call it a night."

"Given that," Amanda added. "Anyone still out there isn't going to be savable. And we're more likely to increase casualties than save anyone.”

“Some of us are pretty indestructible,” Carol said. Something Carol said a lot. Valkyrie was mostly one of those people, but she’d about had it with this mountain. “But, we do have all 22 people who had lift tickets accounted for. Any one not recorded and off piste we have no way of finding at this point.”

“Also it’s Christmas Eve,” Sam said. “I’m ready to call it.”

“I don’t sense any one,” Wanda added. “My range isn’t the whole mountain, but it’s considerable if I stretch.” Her mouth quirked. “Though I now accidentally know everybody’s gossip.”

"I admire your restraint in not knowing it before hand," Sharon said.

"Are you okay to go?" Barnes asked Amanda.

She nodded. "The local medics have it well in hand. And I'm dead on my feet.”

“Okay,” Carol said. “Lets pack up and go home.”

Behind her, Valkyrie heard Thor’s stomach rumble and realized she too was absolutely starving. Usually on missions Amanda handed out protein bars and hassled people to eat them. Today she hadn’t said a peep. She really hoped there was some kind of food back home.

*

MJ hated sitting around while Peter was on missions. Even ones like this, where there were no guns, all she could do was sit around and worry. She eagerly said yes when asked if she wanted to help with dinner prep, and within an hour or two Lani had every single person still in the house participating in some way. No one knew when the team would be home, but they’d have Christmas Eve dinner ready when they did.

That woman ran a kitchen like a restaurant.

Based on her entirely Pixar-movie related knowledge of restaurant kitchens, MJ was pretty sure she was some sort of low end sous chef. But she chopped vegetables with all the skill she possessed and later learned the secret to a perfect pie crust, so it was a productive endeavor.

It was all women and kids, plus Scott Lang, who hadn’t brought is suit and they’d decided he wasn’t all that useful otherwise, since he didn’t have any powers. MJ appreciated the man took being on vacation seriously, unlike literally any of the rest of them.

And he was useful for carrying things. “Hey, question,” he asked of the kitchen when he came hauling in a sack of potatoes. “Why are the little kids out there shaking little tubs with what sounds like marbles in them?”

“They’re making butter,” Laura said. “Keeps ‘em busy.”

He stared at her a moment. "That's _genius_."

"I have three siblings and a mother with no patience. I know many tricks.”

“Hey, somebody come over here and tell me if this needs more butter.” Pepper was making mashed potatoes with AJ strapped to her in his sling.

"If you think it does, it does," Lani called, even as MJ made her way over.

“I don’t want to put in too much.”

"There's no such thing in cooking as too much butter.”

Pepper held the spoon out to MJ. “Just test it, please.”

She did so, sucking on the spoon a moment, thinking. "I'd put in more. And a little salt.”

“Thank you very much.”

By the time FRIDAY notified them that the team was packing up, most of dinner was done and waiting in warming ovens. They scrambled into the dining room to get the table set.

MJ left the grown ups debating fork placement and went to change into non-sweaty and flour covered clothes. When she got back to the main room the team was filing in, tired and damp from snow. Peter's hug got her clothes messier than the previous outfit had been but she was just happy to see him.

“Long day,” he murmured into her shoulder.

"Yeah." She rubbed his back. "We got dinner ready.”

“Because you are a kind and wonderful woman.” He lifted his head. “And I am _starving_.”

"Change out of your suit and come down. There's so much food, Lani is a wizard.”

Peter kissed her. “I’ll be back in a few.”

She patted his butt as he passed and went to help carry the serving trays out. The team slowly returned from changing out of their suits, and some were already stealing rolls or gazing longingly at the turkey as they waited for the rest to appear.

“This is magnificent,” Steve said. “Thank you.”

“Glad I hired you, Yee,” Tony said.

"The advanced psycho-therapy in two timelines wasn't sufficient?”

“Well, that too.”

“I appreciated the therapy,” Pepper said.

"Well, you're welcome for that and the dinner." She held up her glass. "Merry Christmas, everyone.”

*

They had seven children in the house, which meant there was an enormous pile of Christmas presents. Nat and Laura had all their presents for their household wrapped before they left Missouri. At the other end of the spectrum, Pepper—who was usually the most organized and prepared person on earth—had nothing wrapped. 

The women organized a wrapping party for Christmas Eve, after the kids had all gone to bed. It had an old school quilting circle vibe Amanda referred to as stitch-and-bitch. What few men had continued to loiter fled when the conversation turned to period products.

It was probably a little retrograde how they kept separating by gender, but some things still seemed to be women’s work. 

“It’s nice, though,” Wanda was saying. “I am completely free of disposable products.”

Nat shook her head. “There is very little that came out of the Red Room that was good, but I really do like the lack of periods.”

"My clock is ticking down," Laura said. "Soon Lila will be the only one with anything under the sink."

"I've been meaning to try the cloth pads," Amanda said, folding paper around an oddly shaped doll box with the seriousness of a physics experiment. "Not sure if having them soaking in the sink will weird James out or feel remarkably familiar.”

“They had disposables by then,” MJ said. “During the first World War, nurses would use the super-absorbent bandage material, and then the surplus was sold as pads after the war.”

“Steve’s Mom was a nurse in WWI,” Sharon said. “If his Mom was friends with her, I’d bet she used them too. So probably weird.”

"This is why I advocate for couples to have separate bathrooms," Amanda muttered, slapping one more piece of tape on it and handing it to MJ to label. She had been assigned label duty since none of the kids would recognize her handwriting as "Santa."

"Tony likes you," Pepper said. "I feel like you could talk him into adding onto your cabin."

Amanda was studying her next oddly shaped mission but Nat swore she was flushing a little. "That will probably definitely happen.”

“My house has been under construction for 20 years,” Laura said. “I keep thinking it will stop, but then Clint finds something else.”

Nat pointed at her with scissors. "I told you, we should start inventing out-buildings for him to build.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Nat could see looks being exchanged. She made eye contact with Laura and raised her eyebrows. Laura sighed, looked at the rest of them, and said, “Okay. How many of you know about the hot tub?”

There was a pause, then one by one most of the hands went up. Lots of surprised faces, too. Nat had to laugh. It was a regular Regency House Party. After a moment, Hope ventured, “So you knew?”

“Yes. This is what we do. How we are. The three of us. They were in the tub with my blessing as I was not at all interested in risking frostbite and a UTI.” She gave Nat a significant look. “Or getting seen.”

Before anyone else could reply, Valkyrie laughed and said, “By the tree, is my gaydar rusty.”

"Well, we don't-" Nat gestured between them. "At least nothing sexual. Laura's not into that. We're affectionate-"

"And having a third adult in the house is so handy," Laura added.

"But mostly we. . . share Clint.”

“How does that work, exactly?” MJ asked, then added. “Sorry, that was rude, you don’t have to answer that.”

Nat glanced over at Laura, who shrugged, then turned back to MJ. "Without going into detail, we take turns, depending on everyone's mood. Laura and I don't have sex, but have a kind of. . ."

"Emotional relationship," Laura supplied. "After three kids and a lot of hormone changes and day-to-day stress I'm just as happy to have a few hugs and cuddles and go to bed in my flannel. In the timeline I remember, it became very obvious once I met the whole team and visited the Tower that Clint and Nat had feelings for each other that they had put aside for my sake. So I sat them down and we have a very awkward, painful conversation and this was the result. It works for all of us and we make a point to check in with each other frequently to make sure it's continuing to work. Which it has, better than any of us imagined.”

“After Clint returned from the battle,” Nat said, “Laura had to explain all of that to him. And then when I returned they had to explain it to me.” That had been a very interesting conversation. But one that had, in the end, made her happier than she’d ever been.

“Wait,” Pepper said. “This is new? Because you met the team earlier because of Morgan?”

"Yep," Nat said. "This was not a thing in the timeline we remember. That's what I meant when there were things that had changed that Tony wouldn't have known to ask for.”

Pepper shook her head. “I wonder sometimes if he wished for people to be happy. And the stones did what they needed to.”

"It sounds like his sort of thing,"Amanda said. "Think about it, everyone in our little inner circle got a better life out of it."

"Well," Sharon said cautiously. "Steve was having a hard time of it. But it's getting better now.”

“Not taking retirement well?” Pepper asked.

"No. Not at all. I didn't know. . . It's was hard.”

“He probably needed to retired, though,” Nat said. “To move on. As tough as I imagine that was. The war had to end.”

"I think that's what he's come around to," Sharon agreed, glancing over at Lani who gave the slightest of nods. "But it took a little while to get there. And you all know how he is, tries to be the strong one for everyone. He spent a while pretending to be fine, and I didn't know how hard to push to break through it." She looked over at Nat. "You seem to have adapted better."

She shrugged. "I died for the cause and saved the universe. Even I have to admit that wipes out whatever red was left on my ledger. Not a lot of people get a second chance after giving 'the last full measure.' I intend to grab it with both hands and not let go.”

“That’s mostly where Tony is at,” Pepper said. “Much to my eternal surprise. Surviving his own death had previously—much like Steve—caused him to double down. Nowadays he’s blasé about losing the arm. Like he considered it a fair trade for survival.”

“He took your death very hard,” Sharon said to Nat. “Something I think he felt comparatively alone in.”

She blew out a breath. "We got close, closer than we had been, during the lost years. When I did what I did I think I was most worried about him. At least Clint was there. He wasn't happy, but he saw me make the decision, got to say goodbye, in a way. The last thing I said to Steve was see you in a minute. And then. . . I didn’t."

“It was a bad time,” Sharon said, and Nat got the sense that was the understatement of a lifetime.

“I wish I’d known to call him,” Laura said quietly. “He would not have felt alone in his grief at our house.”

"Maybe I'll come visit," Nat said. "Once the holidays are over."

Sharon grinned. "He'd love that.”


	5. Tuesday, December 25

Sharon woke up in the dark in an empty bed. Outside the wind was howling. The worst of the storm seemed to have come in. She could just barely see Steve silhouetted in the window, watching it.

She stretched and rubbed her face. "What time is it?”

“One or so.” He glanced back. “Merry Christmas.”

"Merry Christmas." She got up and went to join him at the window. "Storm bothering you?”

“It does seem particularly arctic out there.” He put an arm around her. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

"Empty bed. Sets off my alarms." She tucked her arms around his waist, pressing a kiss to his bare shoulder. "You get any sleep?" She thought he'd been out when she came in from wrapping presents with the girls, but he could have been faking.

“Some. I do need less.” He sighed. “Maybe we should put on the fireplace.”

"I wouldn't mind. You want me to go get some hot chocolate from the kitchen?”

She could feel him hesitate, and then he nodded. She left him to turn on the fire and went to fix a couple cups of hot chocolate. Fortunately, Stark's fancy espresso machine made steamed milk, so she was back with the drinks and a snack in a minute or two.

They plopped down in front of the fire and Steve tugged the quilt and blankets off the bed to wrap up in.

“Funny that it’s still that crash that gets me,” he said after a moment. “All the other things I’ve been though, and still nothing gives me nightmares like a good blizzard.”

She rubbed his leg. "I imagine most people with near-death experiences have nightmares about it. And you never forget our first," she added, teasing a little.

“I was awake a long time,” he said quietly, staring into the fire. “As it got colder and everything froze and I just. . . waited to die.”

Sharon sat quietly a moment, sipping her hot cocoa. "Did I ever tell you I was shot once, on an early assignment.”

He turned towards her. “I have mapped your scars.”

"It's the one on my shoulder. I got the guy center mass but he managed to get off a shot before hitting the ground. I did emergency treatment best I could, but my retrieval team was almost an hour out. Shock feels. . . very cold. Numbing. I had a lot of dreams afterwards where I was freezing to death. My sub conscious's way of dealing with it, I guess.”

Steve pulled her closer. “Maybe either of us coming into the mountains in the winter wasn’t the best idea.”

She laughed. "What do you say, next year Hawaii?”

“Apparently the Starks have a house there. This was, apparently, new to them.”

"Maybe they'll agree to host there next year. We can have luau for Christmas dinner.”

He made a slurping sound drinking his hot chocolate. “I have every faith in your abilities to make that happen. Make anything happen, really.”

"I appreciate your faith in me, baby." She leaned on his arm, looking at the fire. "I think it'll be a good year. next year.”

“Certainly it will be less weird.” He smiled. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, actually. What I want out of the future. How I want to live my life.”

She looked over at him. "You want to expand your youtube empire?”

“Not exactly.” He watched her a moment, and look his head. “Look I was. . . I was going to do this tomorrow. Well, later today. But now I’m thinking. . .” He trailed off, looking down at his hands.

"Steve?" She touched his arm lightly. "What is it?”

“I don’t know what I would have done this year without you. You were the steadiest thing I had. I can’t imagine what might come next—could be armageddon or it could be, God willing, just really really boring. But whatever it is, I want to do it together. So I’d like to know if I could convince you to be my wife?”

Her stupid brain had been about to convince her he was breaking up with her, so Sharon needed a moment to fully change gears. She was aware she probably stared openmouthed at him while doing so. "I - Yes! Yes of course.”

Steve grinned, and leaned in to kiss her. “Good.”

She wrapped her arms around him, kissing him back. "Is this my Christmas present?”

“Yes, the ring is under the tree.”

That would have been so public and embarrassing. "I like it like this.”

He kissed her shoulder. “I was going to ask you before I ambushed you.”

"I appreciate that. But this way we get to celebrate alone for a while.”

“I adore you, you know that, don’t you? Right now I don’t even care about the snow.”

She grinned, feeling warm down to her toes. "I love you. Merry Christmas, Steve.”

*

It was very much the epitome of a white Christmas. The snowing had stopped, and the sun outside was blinding bright when it woke Lani. “FRIDAY, close the drapes.” There was no response, of course, because they were in Tahoe, and the drapes were manually operated. She glanced next to her and Sam was nowhere to be found.

Well. She and her minions did have a lot of people to cook breakfast for.

She took her time getting up and out of the room. By the time she hit the hall she could hear the pandemonium around the tree. It sounded like the kids were very excited that Santa had managed to find them even in the storm.

Sam came around the corner, carrying a plate and a mug, and she almost hit him in the knees. “Hey, there you are.” He held out the plate. “I brought you toast and coffee.”

She took the mug first. "Thank you. I guess I slept in?”

He shook his head. “Most people are still asleep. Just the Bartons, Starks, and Langs are up. Much as it sounds like an entire herd of elephants.”

"Why are you up?" she asked, sipping her coffee. "Do we have kids I'm unaware of?”

“I wanted to make sure you got some breakfast, and get the kitchen set up.”

She smiled, reaching up so he'd lean down for a kiss. "Thank you. You're a good boyfriend.”

“Merry Christmas,” he replied with a grin. “Let’s get cooking.”

"Are you going to be my sous chef this morning?" she asked, hovering next to him as they headed back to the kitchen.

“I think I’m the only non-parent up, and their hands are full.”

"Well, breakfast is easy. We can make a good feast.”

The house seemed to have an abundance of breakfast related gadgets. There was a waffle maker, omelette maker, egg cooker, crepe maker, bacon cooker, and a machine that made an entire egg mcmuffin. Sam had dug them all out.

She puttered about, putting away everything but the waffle maker, then went to the pantry to get the supplies for the batter. "How many eggs do we have?”

“72 if the cartons in there are full."

That should almost be enough. "Give me 18 for the batter and I say we just scramble the rest. Put the oven to 400 and we can do the bacon on sheet trays.”

“Do we need to save some eggs for dinner?”

She rolled her head on her shoulders going over her mental menu. "Reserve a dozen just in case. That'll still leave forty for this morning.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he called, and then disappeared into the pantry.

Lani got the waffle maker heating up and started whisking the waffle batter together. In the other room, she heard one of the kids squeal in delight at whatever they'd just opened and couldn't help but smile. It was probably going to be a hectic, exhausting day, but it would also be filled with a lot of joy. And that was something this group needed. In large doses.

*

A pregnancy test measured the presence of HCG, a hormone produced only by pregnant women. It was a very straightforward chemical reaction test. Despite what one might see on TV, false positives were very rare.

This particular test was definitely positive.

“You all right in there?” James called, knocking on the bathroom door.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she called back, still staring at the little pink lines. "Be right out."

Staring at them would not change the answer. In fact, that god-dammed second line was getting darker as she watched.

Taking another test would also not change the answer, though that was her first instinct.

He was going to start getting nervous. She needed to suck it up and go out there to tell him.

When she opened the door, he was standing a few feet away, arms crossed over his chest. “What’s wrong?”

She sighed and held up the pregnancy test. "I'm pregnant.”

Slowly his arms dropped, and he looked stunned. “No shit?” He took the test and squinted at it. “You said it was going to take a while. And that I’d have to give you shots.”

"I'm almost forty. My hormonal testing indicates on on the precipice of menopause. A natural, no intervention conception is unlikely, bordering on impossible. And yet." She gestured at the stick. "I blame the super soldier serum.”

James started laughing and shook his head. “Jesus. Should someone tell Sharon to reinforce her birth control? I don’t know if she’s even 30.”

"I do intend to give her a head's up, actually. There are hormonal birth controls that you can still ovulate, and given his exposure to the serum was more intense then yours-" She broke off. "Sorry. Science brain. Anyway. Yeah. Baby on board.”

He grinned at her. “I love your science brain. I hope our kid is just as smart.” He held out his arms. “C’mere.”

She stepped over to him and let him tug her tight against his chest. “Happy?"

“This is the best possible Christmas present.” 

"Technically, it'll be more like a fourth of July present. If my calculations about conception are correct. I'll need and ultrasound to be sure.”

“Great, they can share a birthday with Steve.” He paused. “Can we tell people?”

"I think that's all right. I'm close three months if not past it, so most of the risks are past.”

He leaned back to look at her. “There will be shrieking and fussing.”

"There will be shrieking and fussing no matter when we tell them. At some point, someone will notice I'm putting on some weight.”

James grinned. “It’s certainly going to be an exciting Christmas morning.”

"It certainly is. Do you think the frenzy of kid toys is done?”

He kissed her temple. “Only one way to find out. Plus I’m hungry and I smell bacon.”

"That does smell good," she admitted. He hovered while she finished getting dressed, then took her hand as they headed out to the main room.

*

The gift orgy came and went. The food orgy followed, as Lani and her crew of helpers made a banquet for dinner that would impress a medieval King. They took the kids out to make snowmen, and then came back in and stuffed them with more freshly made cookies. When the sugar crash hit, they were all tucked into bed on the early side, some clutching their favorite gifts. Afterwards the adults sat down and watched Die Hard, so it was finally officially Christmas.

Pepper went to bed when AJ fell asleep, knowing she’d be up in the middle of the night. When he did wake her, she was somewhat concerned that the other half of the bed was empty. After she changed the baby’s diaper, she took him out to the living room to feed him and found Tony alone on one of the couches, staring up at the tree.

She sat on the other end of the couch to start nursing. After a few minutes she asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“Siberia.”

Pepper looked up at him. “Festive.”

“I was doing a catalog of all the times I’ve survived my own death.” He looked over at her. “Don’t make that face.”

“This is my regular middle of the night face.”

“It’s crazy that in this timeline that was two years ago. Though I can’t believe the stones didn’t just delete that whole ugly mess while they were mining my subconscious to fix the past. Considering the other changes.”

“No, that was too important a block in the jenga of your life. People need to hit bottom. You’d have never sorted your head out and we’d have ended up divorced. You’d have never hired Amanda and would have died on that battlefield in New York.”

He considered that a moment, still contemplating the tree. "Fair enough. I hope all of this isn't a hallucination while I'm doing just that.”

“Have you ever hallucinated in all the times you almost died?”

"Not that I recall.”

“I think your subconscious is too weird to come up with something this normal.” She paused. “Admittedly, look at how it sorted everyone’s lives. Even stuff you might never have thought of.”

"I would definitely not have thought of Doc hooking up with Barnes and making babies.”

“Or the Bartons.”

He inclined his head. "No, that's a curve ball." He looked over at her. "Lani thinks I just wanted everyone to be happy.”

“That certainly seems to have happened. Two weddings and at least one new baby next year. All from one tiny little decision.”

"My God, I am George Bailey.”

“I think technically Morgan might be George Bailey.”

"Don't take this from me, I've made you Donna Reed.”

She laughed, and then scooted over so she could lean on him and he could put his arm around her. “Did I tell you I figured it out? The butterfly.”

Tony tucked an arm around her. "Other than Morgan?”

“The beginnings of Morgan. I did the math because I was curious, and of course I never delete anything so looked at my schedule from the time. Do you remember after you had the shrapnel and arc reactor taken out, the doctor gave you approval for ‘activity’ and you called me in Hong Kong to try and convince me to swing through New York ‘on the way’ to London and I told you your libido could wait two days?”

"It rings a faint, sad bell." He turned to look at her. "Did you bend to my whims in this reality?”

“I did. Apparently I was in New York for four hours. Thirty-eight weeks and two days later, there she was.”

"See? When I tell you I only have good ideas. . .”

“This was a good idea, too,” she said, gesturing at the tree, and the house.

"It was. I think everyone had a nice time. Avalanche and snow storm aside.”

“Honestly, Tony, considering it’s us, an earthquake, avalanche, and blizzard are pretty damn mild, disaster-wise.”

"That's a fair point. We wouldn't have trusted it if nothing had happened.”

“Maybe next year will be even more boring."

"That would be really nice."


End file.
